Recipes – Sharing and Party Dishes

With the Easter holidays going on and the kids off school, it’s likely that you might have a larger crowd than usual of family and friends to feed! If you have a lot of guests to entertain, good meal options are things which can be made in advance and meals which can be shared between many people to create a friendly and casual atmosphere. Here are some dishes we think are perfect for sharing with those you love:

Shahi Paneer

Shahi Paneer

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder

4 tomatoes, pureed

1/2 pound paneer, cubed

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon white sugar

salt to taste

1/4 cup cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Method:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the hot oil until the onions are soft and golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle the cumin, coriander, turmeric, and chilli powder over the onion and garlic; continue cooking until the seasonings are fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Pour the pureed tomatoes into the skillet; cook until the excess liquid evaporates and the oil separates, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the paneer, water, sugar, and salt to the mixture; stir gently so the paneer does not break apart.

Cook until the paneer begins to absorb some of the liquid, about 10 minutes. Stir the cream into the mixture and simmer another 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro to serve.

Shami Kebabs

Shami Kebabs

Ingredients:

500g lamb/mutton cleaned and washed

3 tbsp chana dal/chick pea lentils soaked in water for half an hour

3-4 green chillies

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

salt – to taste

1 tbsp red chilli powder

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp elaichi powder

½ tsp turmeric powder

oil for shallow frying

Method:

Add the meat to a pressure cooker and roast for about two minutes. Add salt, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, and stir. Then add green chillies, chopped coriander leaves, 1 cinnamon stick, elaichi powder and the soaked chana dal. Add in 1tbsp oil and 1 cup of water, and pressure cook the whole mixture until the meat is completely tender or for about 4-5 whistles. If there is any water remaining in the mixture then cook it until the water is absorbed totally.

Allow the mixture of meat to cool down completely. Blend the mixture into a fine paste (do not add water) and rest the dough paste in refrigerator for about 10 – 15 minutes for the mutton paste to become thick. The mixture can be left in the refrigerator at this stage until the kebabs are desired.

When you want to fry, take a small ball portion of the meat mixture, apply oil on palms and make a round or oval shaped kebab. Make as many kebabs as you prefer until the mixture is used up. Heat a pan with about 2 tbsp oil and shallow fry until a golden brown colour appears at the bottom side of the kebab. Brush a little oil over the top of the kebabs and flip them then continue shallow frying until golden brown.

Serve the kebabs with fresh lemon and onions, and eat with dal and roti.

Aloo Dum

Aloo Dum

Ingredients:

10 -12 small potatoes

2 tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

1⁄2 teaspoon ginger

2 dried red chilies

1 1⁄2 teaspoons cumin powder

1 tablespoon garam masala

2 cloves

2 cardamoms

1⁄2 teaspoon fennel seed

1⁄2 cup plain yogurt

2 tablespoons canola oil

Salt

Method:

Boil whole potatoes in salted water until they are easy to peel- they should not be mushy. If you have the larger variety of small potatoes, cut them in half. While potatoes are boiling, grind together the tomatoes, red chili, ginger and garlic. Set aside.

Prick the peeled and boiled potatoes with a fork and lightly sauté in 1 tbsp canola oil until they have a light golden crust and set aside on a plate. While the potatoes are frying, make a powder of the cloves, cardamoms, fennel seeds and whisk the powder with the yogurt. Set aside.

In a pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp canola oil, and add the tomato mixture. Cook, stirring frequently for 5-7 mins or until the raw smell of tomatoes and garlic is gone.

Add the yogurt mixture slowly to the pan, continue stirring for 1-2 minutes. Add salt to taste, cumin powder and garam masala. If it looks dry, add about 1/2 cup of water at this point, and cook for 5 minutes on low heat.

Add the potatoes, stir well, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the gravy is moderately chunky.

Garnish with cilantro if you like, and serve!

Dahi Baingan

Succulent fresh eggplant

Ingredients:

1 eggplant cut into ¼ inch thick pieces this will make about 4 cups of cubed eggplant

3 tablespoons oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/8 teaspoon asafetida /hing

1 teaspoon ginger thinly sliced

1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste

1 cup yogurt

2 teaspoons gram flour

2 teaspoons coriander powder

1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed

1 teaspoon red chili powder, adjust to taste

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

About 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Method:

Whisk the yogurt, gram flour, and cilantro together keep aside. Adding the gram flour at this stage will prevent curdling and thicken the curry.

Heat the oil in a flat pan on medium high heat. When oil is moderately hot add cumin seeds. As seeds crack add asafetida, ginger. Stir for about half a minute.

Add eggplant and stir gently in order to spread them in the pan evenly. Sprinkle the salt over eggplant, do not mix. Cover the pan, lower the heat to medium low and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Turn them over; some of the eggplants should have a nice grilled charcoal colour. Cover the pan and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Check the eggplant they should be soft and tender add the remaining spices, coriander, fennel seeds, and turmeric. Stir gently all the pieces of eggplants should be coated with spice mix. Add yogurt, stir gently and let it cook for 2-3 minutes before serving immediately with plain paratha.